Ian Scott Massie's Blog

I'm lucky enough to live in North Yorkshire - a county rich in beautiful landscapes and also in beautiful buildings. We have some of the best ruins - Fountains Abbey, Byland Abbey and - above - Richond Castle. There are some wonderful industrial buildings, like the Abbey Mill at Studley Royal - below - which has been in continual use for a jaw-dropping eight hundred years, and the county is also littered with stately homes of every age and style.

This one, below, is just outside my home town of Masham. Swinton Castle is now a luxury hotel with a very interesting history.

Swinton originally belonged to Henry Scrope. He was charged with plotting to murder Henry V at Southampton just before the king was due to sail for France. Scrope was beheaded and Henry went on to his victory at Agincourt, giving one of his greatest hits. The existing Swinton Castle was built in the Tudor period and then, in the late 18th Century, the Tudor building was wrapped in a Georgian facade. Battlements, wings and a tower completed the ensemble.

It's a building I draw and paint a lot and its one of the subjects I'll be taking students to on the course: Drawing & Painting Architecture at Artison in September.

We're going to look at, learn about and draw some other buildings in the Masham area and along the way I'll be dispensing tips on drawing, getting proportions right and perspective.

Wow! They looks like illustrations for a A Song of Ice And Fire books. I can see Harrenhall ruins at the first picture, The Twins at the third one and some castle of the smaller lord (maybe, Tally or Clegane) on the middle one. Very cute.